You’re getting old. There’s no reason to neither deny it nor feel bad about it; we all get old. But what we can do is slow that aging process down. Sure, you may just age gracefully like a fine wine – getting better with time. But the odds are, you won’t get better with time; in fact, you will likely turn to vinegar. To prevent this, here are five simple changes you can make to your lifestyle to be healthier, both in body and in mind, as you age.
Is your mind going? Buy a houseplant
If you want to keep your mind sharp and at its best, you have to curb your stress levels. Since you will lose brain strength as you age anyway, why should you help it out by giving it stress? Cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress, help decay your precious mind, so you really have to kick the stress to the curb. According to research conducted by McGill University, simply having a houseplant can easily reduce your stress levels. I know what you’re thinking: you can’t take care of a plant. If this is the case, buy a snake plant or a spider plant, both of which are nearly impossible to kill.
Keep a strong ticker: drink your orange juice
Orange juice, as you may have guessed, contains a heaping helping of vitamin C, which will help keep your blood flowing. What does that mean? It means that your heart will be getting a steady flow of blood, unhindered. All you need is 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day. This will drastically decrease your chances of getting a heart attack or other heart related problems in the future. Keep the ticker young, and you will feel younger.
Got a bad complexion? Get some sleep
According to experts, getting your recommended eight hours of sleep will do wonders for your face. This is because while you sleep, your skin creates collagen and elastin which help tighten your skin and prevent the on-set of wrinkles. For a face that looks ten years younger, get to sleep. And sleep on your back; according to research, people who sleep on their stomachs develop wrinkles faster than people who sleep on their back. I guess the constant friction between your cheeks and the pillowcase is too much to handle.
Having some trouble hearing? Fry an egg
Eggs, specifically the yolks, contain hearing saving phosphatidylcholine, which is a component of the cell membranes in your ears. This fatty acid, in a recent study, can drastically reduce the chances of age-related hearing loss.
Not seeing 20/20 anymore? Switch to whole grain
Refined carbohydrates have a direct link with vision problems. This is because when the body receives too much sugar, the cells can’t possibly use it all. As a result, the proteins in your eyes will become damaged. The easiest solution to this is to switch from regular old white bread to whole grain bread. This will severely lower your risk of vision damage as a result of age.
